The Soul of Discretion
}} The pieces fall into place for "Durkon" as the elven pilgrim agrees to take them to the location of the Godsmoot. Cast * Roy Greenhilt ◀ ▶ * Durkon Thundershield (as vampire and as spirit) ◀ ▶ * Vaarsuvius ◀ ▶ * Blackwing ◀ ▶ * "Durkon" ◀ ▶ * Veldrina ◀ ▶ * Wrecan ◀ ▶ * Little Whiskers ▶ Transcript Roy: So, we were hoping to find someone who could—''whoa!'' Veldrina: Oh, don’t mind the tiger. Little Whiskers wouldn’t hurt a fly. Wrecan: On the plus side, that was more Giant Monstrous Fly experience points for the rest of us. Roy: Uh, right. At any rate, we were looking for someone who could restore Durkon to life. Veldrina: Oooo! That would be experimentally intriguing. Veldrina: Would that even work with a Raise Dead spell? No, I think it would need to be Resurrection, due to the negative particle wave interference. Wrecan: And you…You actually want to be alive again? "Durkon": Och, aye. All I want is ta better serve me friends as healer. Inside Durkon's head "Durkon": And if the elf is capable of doing it, I’ll have to murder everyone in this room. Even worse, I’ll have to come up with a new plan. In the room Veldrina: While I’m sure it would yield illuminating empirical data, I’m afraid I don’t actually know the Resurrection spell yet. Roy: Oh. You’re not powerful enough to cast 7th-level spells, either? Veldrina: No, I am. Veldrina: But I’m not what you would really call a “temple-certified” healer. Veldrina: I’m not actually a cleric, I’m the favored soul of my (really minor) elven goddess. Veldrina: It’s kind of complex, but the bottom line is that I haven’t yet mastered every cleric spell. Veldrina: I have what would best be described as an idiosyncratic approach to magic. Wrecan: Also known as, “Feign it ‘til they ordain it.” Veldrina: Hey, I’m just as good as those stuffy hierarchal frumps! Veldrina: They wouldn’t have picked me to represent the combined Western and elven pantheons if I wasn’t! Wrecan: Secret mission, Vel. Remember? Secret! Roy: Represent? That would have to something to do with a whole bunch of clerics taking a trip to the Pinnacle Mountains, right? Veldrina: Oh, see? He’s already in the loop. Told you he seemed nice. Wrecan: I guess… Veldrina: I can’t figure out why the Clerics of the Northern Gods called their Godsmoot with just three days’ notice, though. The winter solstice is tomorrow!! Wrecan: We’d already be there if ship we chartered hadn’t balked at her bringing a tiger. Veldrina: Can you believe I threw 5000 bucks down the drain just to get stuck here?!? Wrecan: And it felt like it took two or three years to get this far! Veldrina: That’s money I could have spent on a new broach. Or maybe a nice cameo. Wrecan: …and then we spent all day combing through Tinkertown’s magic shops for a single-use item that could get us there— Wrecan: —but some other elf beat us to the only teleport orb we could find. Flashback to a magic store in Tinkertown. The sign on the window reads, "MAGIC" Roy (inset): Another elf? With red robes and a pet raven? Wrecan (inset): Yeah, that’s the one. Veldrina: Hey, we need that for an important mission! Vaarsuvius: I believe I am experiencing what is commonly referred to as dejá vu. Blackwing: Darn, I left my sombrero on the ship. Wrecan: We were able to find a Wind Walk scroll though, so we’ll try that after Veldrina has tranced. Wrecan: Though I think even that spell’s top speed won’t get us there before the moot starts. "Durkon": Roy, if we— Roy: Yeah, I’m already there. Roy: I’ve got good news for you two. That elf works for me. Wrecan: Oh, I get it. You want to trade the orb for the spell you need. Veldrina: But I can’t cast that spell! Roy: No, that’s not what I’m proposing. Roy: My wizard was right, we need that teleport orb. But what we have that you don’t is an airship. Roy: If you know where this meeting is, we can get you there on time. Roy: Right in the nick of time, if the ship’s owner is to believed. Veldrina: You would do that for us? Wrecan: I don’t understand. What’s in it for you? Roy: A room full of clerics we wouldn’t be able to find otherwise. Roy: At least one of them should be able to restore Durkon, right? Inside Durkon's head Durkon: Tha’s wha ye were after all along, weren’t it? Tha location o’ tha Godsmoot. "Durkon": Oh, no. I already knew that. Zenith Peak, about 830 miles northeast from here. Durkon: But—then—Why go thru all this trouble ta find out?!? "Durkon": What was I supposed to do? "Durkon": Walk up to Roy an ask him to take me to a secret meeting that poor dead Durkon would have no way of knowing was happening at all, much less knowing where? "Durkon": I assure you that your friend would not bring me there if he knew who I was or what my mistress was planning. Durkon: Ye let Roy learn aboot it on ‘is own so ‘e wouldnae think twice aboot going. "Durkon": Uh, I’m a vampire. Letting something appear organic when it’s really a cruel unnatural charade is kinda my whole thing. D&D Context * While Clerics have the whole list of cleric spells available for them to prepare, Favored Souls such as Veldrina are spontaneous casters who rely on a smaller list of spells known. Trivia * The gathering of clerics that Roy and the High Priest of Hel learned about a few strips ago is confirmed as a secret and described by Veldrina as a godsmoot of the Northern Gods, called with only three days of notice. * "Durkon" already knows the exact location, but has no way of telling Roy without arousing too much suspicion. * In page 1, panel 11, Veldrina mentions spending 5000 bucks "just to get here", and Wrecan mentions feeling like "it took two or three years to get this far". This refers to the character of Veldrina being in the comic due to a $5000 kickstarter donation, and her taking years to appear in the comic. In page 2, panel 1, she mentions spending the money on a "cameo", a double entendre: a cameo can be a cameo appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts (which is what she is), or it can be an item, typically a piece of jewelry carved using the cameo method of carving a raised relief contrast on a negative image (which is is what she suggests buying). * In page 2 panel 2, Vaarsuvius' and Blackwing's comments refer to the events of #679. * In page 2, panel 5, Roy refers to Julio Scoundrél's comments in #937, Travel Time. External Links * 987}} View the comic * 416534}} View the discussion thread Category:Godsmoot Preparation